The invention relates generally to therapy devices and specifically to an exercise enclosure which supports and maintains the legs of a patient in a substantially vertical orientation which allows the patient to exercise and regain the ability to walk.
A common physical therapy problem is that of assisting a patient in regaining the facility of selflocomotion. An elderly person who has suffered a stroke, a person recovering from major surgery or an individual injured in an accident may find that walking is physically or physiologically impossible. Muscle strength, which has deteriorated, must be regained and coordination and motor control, which may be temporarily impaired, must be relearned before walking is once again possible.
Numerous devices have been designed to assist the recuperating patient in regaining the ability to walk. Several take the form of a metal frame walker such as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,690,652; 3,993,349; or 2,862,544. Such walkers are generally helpful as movable support for a patient and are of assistance to those patients who are presently capable of maintaining proper leg extension and orientation.
A problem of severely handicapped or injured patients is their inability to maintain their legs in generally straight and vertical, weight-bearing relationship to their bodies. Walking therapy with the devices noted above is relatively futile inasmuch as they do not provide forward and rearward support to the legs of the patient and the patient's legs may fail to support him--due either to a lack of strength or a lack of control. If the patient is unable to stand, it is obvious that leg strengthening and walking exercises will be difficult or impossible. One current solution to this problem is to support the patient about the waist or upper torso by therapy equipment which removes a major portion of the weight from the patient's legs and slows the recuperative process.